115. Georgina Bark: Exploring the craft of dry stone walling

Access to Inspiration

Sue Stockdale speaks with Georgina Bark, also known as Bo, a dry stone waller. Bo shares her journey of leaving an office job behind to pursue a career outdoors and why she enjoys her work. Bo emphasises that problem-solving is a crucial aspect of her job, both in building walls and repairing them and offers advice to listeners, encouraging them to pursue their passions.
Georgina Bark is based in Gloucestershire and an Advanced Certificate holder and member of the Dry Stone Walling Association.
Key Quotes

• "You can use hammer on Cotswold stone and the sandstones and the limestones, but there's no point trying to hammer a big granite boulder because you won't win that battle."
• "If I come back and drive past in another 10-20 years it should be here unless I've done something catastrophically wrong"
• "It's really satisfying to see people learning, people taking something in. It's nice learning a skill they've maybe never dreamed of doing even and seeing their pride in what they've done at the end of the weekend."
• "The grants for farmers to repair walls are so low that a lot of farm walls go into disrepair and it's a lot cheaper to put a roll of stock netting round."
• "Sometimes you get in a bit of a rut with a few stones and that's maybe the time to walk away, play with the dog, go and have a cup of tea."
• 'I'm always learning, always something different, different sites, different scenery, getting to go all around the country, working with different people sometimes, different stones."

Time Stamps
00:00:20 Traditional craft of dry stone walling.
00:05:08 Dry stone walling is a craft that requires hands-on experience and a keen eye for judging and using the available stone.
00:10:19 Building dry stone walls sustainably.
00:14:40 Opportunities for collaboration in walling.
00:23:11 Problem-solving is crucial in wall building.
00:24:29 Learning and adapting is key.
00:29:30 Follow your passion and do what makes you happy.
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Producer: Sue Stockdale
Sound Editor: Matias De Ezcurra
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